Women in the City may have helped UK economy

Thursday, April 8th 2010

The British financial crisis may not have been so deep if there had been more women working in the City.

According to a Commons Treasury Committee report, entitled Women In The City, less diverse boards of workers are more likely to "group-think" and make less effective decisions.

Professor Charles Goodhart suggested that, had there been greater female representation at senior levels, the banking crisis could have been less likely.

And Tatjana Hine, vice president of the World Association of women Entrepreneurs, admits she tends to agree with this view.

"You obviously get women who are just as aggressive about finance and profits as men, but they tend to be in the minority rather than the majority," she claims.

Most women are more careful with their own and other people's money than men are, Ms Hine adds.

However, she notes that many women do not want to work in the environment presented by the City.

The long hours mean that such jobs are likely to remain dominated by men rather than women, Ms Hine states.